Sample Shopping & Cats

I was in Lowe's today and noticed these great free samples. The window covering samples looked like they might be great for scrap booking or as a beaded back ground. I was thinking about counter topping when I picked up the granite-looking laminate samples. However, if I was going to do another Bead Journal project they might also make beautiful backing for a series of bead embroidered pieces. Has anyone else noticed the craft value in the many samples that can be found in home improvement stores?

Isn't she a beautiful cat? Unfortunately her owners didn't think so. After the fire next door the family found somewhere else to live. They didn't bother to come collect their cat and nobody has been back to feed her either. She decided that my back porch was a safe place to sleep. I finally went and bought some cat food. After a couple of days of being very wary and not letting me get too close she decided I was alright and climbed up in my lap tonight, purring away. Now I need to find a home for her as I can't manage a cat with my travels across the country every 6 months. As a last resort, I'll take her to the Tombstone Animal shelter. Tombstone already has too many feral cats and I can't bear to leave another one to fend for itself. People who are not responsible for pets are one of my biggest pet peeves.

Superior Seasons finished

I finally got the finishing touches on the Bead Journal piece that I started several weeks ago. I'm very pleased with how the lake stones look against the beadwork. From top left, the stones stand for Spring, Summer, Fall and winter. The copper Etal backing does a nice job of representing the Copper Country of Upper Michigan. Now I have a total of 6 pieces to back - not the year's worth that I had hoped to have, but given the hecticness of the past year, a respectable amount.

I should be Cleaning

This button has been on my ice-box for at least 30 years! I started out this morning with good intentions - to spring house clean underneath the furniture.....

Long story, short:

I picked up the bag of small beach stones that I had collected on the shores of Lake Superior this Spring. I washed them and put them into a glass bowl. Does washing rocks qualify as house cleaning?



I sorted out the very smooth, thin, small ones thinking they might be a good cab substitutes in future bead work.




I guess that future became today as I couldn't resist, grabbed the E-6000 and glued several down onto an Etal backing I had cut for my Bead Journal Project. As soon as the glue dries enough, I will circle each stone with 2 to 4 rows of beads in colors that represent (top left to lower right) Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter. I've already named this piece: "Superior Seasons".


I had to drop out of the formal project that Robin started, but this instance told me that it might be OK to Bead Journal when something like this pops up. I need to find a brass rod, finish backing the BJP pieces that I did get done and hang everything, leaving room for a few more pieces that may come along as the mood strikes me.

P.S. house still isn't cleaned. There is always tomorrow!

COPPER

The other day I was at Lowe's looking for nails and screws when I came across rolls of copper flashing. What a beautiful craft medium. Lowe's carried "Top Cop" in 20' rolls, but in several different widths. The 10" wide roll I bought coat me $26.






It's a paper backed copper foil that is quite heavy but very flexible. It cuts beautifully with scissors.





It does have some sort of coating that keeps it shiny. You have to work at it with a scotch bright pad or sandpaper if you want to age it.



I found it easy to punch with a simple hole punch.




I also found that it embossed quite readily with a hard-tipped pen.






This solves my on-going problem of how to back and display my Bead Journal pages. I can now see all 12 pieces with a copper tab at the top with small copper rivets. I'd use handmade "S" hooks over a thin copper or brass rod. Simple, elegant and exactly what I wanted.


As an aside... I used most of the roll to cover the top of a bedside table and the scraps will undoubtedly show up in other projects in the future.

"Baby....it's cold outside!!"

Time to head West as it's 28 degrees and snowing this morning. Four more days and I can pack the car and go. I'll be pretty much off line and out of touch as I visit my way across the country to Arizona. I do have a wireless equipped laptop and if the Gods of the Internet cooperate, I may post some photos and comments along the way.

You know it's getting chilly when I resort to socks with my flip-flops. Haven't drug out the shoes yet, but if this snow amounts to the 3" they say .... well, shoes are a distinct possibility! Dang... there goes my goal of 365 days of flip-flops....



Jen's bag got put to immediate use. Can you see that it's all my colors? A crocheted winter hat for my G'daughter is nestled in the bag. It looks so pretty that I almost hate to finish the hat and leave the bag empty.



Ahhhh, the "get out of town" blues.... Projects seem to drop to the bottom of the list and then drop off of the list. I always think I have more time than I really do. I'm making a utilitarian kilt for a Christmas present - This entails pressing umpteen million pleats and I'm not sure I can get it all done before I leave. Oh, well a kilt does pack flat and doesn't take up much room

Then there is my Bead Journal Project - way behind and one messy work board of starts and ideas. I think I need a real creative idea for a lid so I can pack this on the very top and work on the pages as I travel. October and November are just glimmer of ideas and August needs the background filled in. I know that I'll find other bead projects in-progress as I sort and pack my beads for the trip. I get easily distracted and think of other things I want to try before finishing what's in front of me.

I'm having Thanksgiving dinner with the family, signing off for a few weeks and hopefully Arizona will have happy, clear blue skies and none of this wet, white cold stuff falling from the skies here in NH

Bead Journal - September

Couldn't sleep, had to finish September's Bead Journal page!

September's Harvest Moon

I'm very pleased with the way this page came out. The graphic simplicity is such a contrast to the other pages I've done (or have in the works). I used a bead crochet rope as the tail or dangle and it's precise construction was just what the piece needed.

Bead Journal - September

I'm still a behinder beader as August is only 3/4 done and October still doesn't even have a plan. Somewhere in here I have to play catch-up.

Except for adding a tail or long fringe, My September Harvest Moon is done. I sort of beaded myself beyond the box as I did the beadwork on separate backing and got carried away. All of a sudden I try fitted it to my rectangle and said, "Oops, too large!" You know something, I like it that way and think I'll leave it like that. It doesn't really show in the photo, but the cab and beadwork has a slight dome to it which I accentuated with a couple of heavy plastic disks between the backing and the cabochon.

Bead Journal - non progress

September's page is started, which means that I now have 2 month's "in the works" and it's already October! Am I behind or what? So, should I start October's also and have a whole 3 month's worth of work in progress?

This one will celebrate September's Harvest Moon; rich, large glowing orb that came up over the trees and was showcased in my bedroom window. The goldstone cab was purchased years ago in New Orleans and has a small chip on one edge. I like that tiny dip in the overall symmetry. I think I'm going to let this one just grow as I bead around the cab - no plans, no design, just letting the beads talk their way to what it wants to be.

Bead Journal - August Progress

OK, it's past the middle of September and I'm just now getting the background onto my August page. It took a lot of looking in my stash of beads to come up with a background that satisfied me and didn't detract from the flames. "Should be a night sky", said I to self..... Then waffled and tried neutral grays, creams, bright blues and even stark white. I'm happy with the variegated, muted color I did settle on. I may still use a lighter color from the top down to give it some added dimension. All, in all, I'm quite pleased with the new things I tried in this piece and how they are working out.

Bead Journal - July

July's Bead Journal Page is Done!

Celebrate Summer" is finally done, except for the backing. I'm still trying to figure out how I want to mount all 12 pieces. Until I figure that out I can't add the printed "ATC" cards to the back and edge the pieces.


July's significance is twofold... One being the bugs (pretty & annoying) that Summer brings to the North East. The second was a case of hives that started out with me thinking "bugs" - bedbugs, fleas or some other small biting insects having breakfast on my body.

I'm very pleased with the way it turned out and like the simplicity of the piece compared to the abundance of beads in June's page. It was hard to leave the metallic background showing and not bead very inch of it. The dangle on this one is a chain with flower beads. I did wire wrapped bead charms with a mix of glass flowers and leaves.

To follow the course of just my Bead Journal Pages use the label "bead journal".

Bead Journal - August

Oh My ~ It Worked!!

I woke up at 3 AM with an inspired idea.... how to do the bottom of my August page in a way that looked like "glowing embers". Never mind that I really need to put legs on my July Bug... I just had to see if this idea worked like I thought it would.

I took size 8/0 matte black beads and stitched them down with a center selection of silver-lined red, orange and blue Delicas. I was working on this at a weekly bead get-together 3 towns over and kept saying, "see, it's looking just like what I had in mind!" It's always exciting to have an idea come out like what you can see in your mind's eye. Unfortunately, the camera really doesn't pick up those flashes of bright, sparkly color on top of the black beads. I really does look like the last embers of a fire going out.

Now, I really do have to get back to putting legs on my Red and Blue July Bug. I've got 3 days left to finish July and August if I want to catch up.

Bead Journal - August

August means a decision made and drastic personal life change for me. I know that I want my August page to somehow reflect that fact.


A year ago I met an almost vintage Knight in slightly dented armour on the Internet. We dated last year and then spent 6 months on the phone, 2,600 miles apart before I returned to New Hampshire for the summer. This month we became "an item", to use vintage terminology. He has an aversion to typing or writing, but did put his thoughts about falling in love down on paper. The sentiments brought a tear to my eye and a smile to my face. I had to turn those words into a more tangible memory and created an ATC sized card. Then I thought about how I might represent those words in beads for my journal page.



Flames came to mind, and more specifically the magnetic California flames on my Element. Double significance? He and I spent 9,000+ miles in that car (24/7) during the last year. You really get to know and find out just how well you tolerate another person other under those circumstances.

This is the image I created to do the beading. I have a cabochon that I'll use for the "ember". I'm not sure yet just what color I'll use for the background, or even if I'll do a beaded background. Once again, I'll step outside of my personal comfort level and bead mostly to a pre-designed pattern. The background may well revert to free form bead embroidery. As usual, the beads themselves will decide just what the final piece will look like. My July page is almost finished and I'm getting ready to bead August's... just a wee bit later than I'd like.

R.L.R., I treasure your presence in my life and the August Bead Journal page is dedicated to you and the time we hope to spend with each other out into the future.

Bead Journal Update

One quarter of a year

Three pages in various stages of completion

The messy beader syndrome strikes again!

My Bead Journal tray needs sorting out - big time. I need to attach the card to the back and finish the edges on June's page. But that will wait til I get done with August's piece as I am still thinking through how I will display all 12 pieces. I still like the idea of a linear format. Just have to keep the weight in mind.

July's page is about half done and August's page is roughed out. One of these days I'm going to learn to finish one thing completely before starting another. Do you think that will ever happen?

July's bug has been beaded and cut out. I've glued the beadwork to an Etal backing and will bead the legs onto that in size 15/0 beads. It's going to be hard for me to leave the backing unbeaded, but that is what I'm going to do. I'm thinking this page will have a chain rope with wire wrapped flower bead charms down the length. I like the simplicity of this page in contrast to the complexity of June's Travel page.

I have August's page roughed out and spent an evening playing with glitter nail polish on the backs of old watch crystals to use as a cabochon. Once I get my bug semi-finished, I'll post more of an explanation of the meaning behind the August page and my plans for it.

Bead Journal - July #2

Sunday was the monthly meeting of the NH Bead Society. I wasn't interested in doing the workshop project, so I sat, chatted, listened and beaded on my July page. It's coming along nicely and I like the definition that the change in blue and red beads gives the piece. If it keeps going this well, I may actually get back on track and slightly ahead of myself.

Bead Journal - July

July's "Celebrate Summer" page is well underway with beads going onto backing. I'm trying something new for me, which is beading to a pre-drawn design. The worst part of this one was getting the printer to like the backing. It took several tries to get it to feed smoothly.

Already, I know that the design is only a launching pad as the beads won't fit nicely into the outlines. I like how the beads give the flat image depth and texture. That's just fine with me as the fun in bead embroidery is letting the beads decide what's going to happen. My idea is to use only 2 colors, but change the transparency and finishes of both the blue and red. Once the bug's body is beaded, I'll cut it out, edge it and applique it to a fabric backing and bead the legs on that part. Not totally 3-D, but still more depth to the piece.

I guess I'm still on my personal time table (15th to 15th of next month) with these pieces as it isn't the middle of August yet. I do have the theme and design for August already worked out and printed on backing. So, when I finish beading July's, I can move right along with August's page.

June Bead Journal Update

June is Done, finally!

OK, my June page is as done as it will get until I finish July's page. My idea is to back each one, add a picot edge and join the picots to make a 12 piece, horizontal strip. To find out if that is going to work, I need at least 2 beaded pages finished.



The base beadwork is done and I've added the New Mexico twig to the surface. That works well as I needed a place to put my Quipu-like knotted strings.




I used a finger weaving technique with Mastexx cording to go around the twig. I think that I'll use my C-Lon cording on any future pieces as the Mastexx was very slippery and I had a hard time holding a decent tension.





Here I'm adding some of the treasures that I collected during the trip from AZ to NH. I also wanted to pick up more of the yellow-orange color to help balance the piece.





This is what it looks like with the knotted strings of memories. Some of those memories of June are in the colors, others in the stash beads or fetishes, and some in the beads (petrified wood) that I bought along the way.


I've been having a couple of conversations with myself ..... No, not crazy, just eccentric! One; I'm wondering why the overall color scheme came out so dark. The trip was all light, bright sunshine and the vistas were light colored mountains, rocks and fields. This one is still unanswered.

I did come to one conclusion... My June page is very complicated with many layers and textures. As designed, my July page will be very simple, flat , with a few bright primary colors. It finally dawned on me that when writing you might have a lot to say one time and maybe only a couple of words the next time. I need to quit thinking about how the completed journal will look like, let each month just be what it will be, and wait til the end to see if I like the full twelve piece journal.

Bead Journal Update

Life Happens

I'm still not finished with June's page because life got in the way of my beading. I've developed a case of hives that just won't go away. That led to pulling my bedroom completely apart as my first thoughts were bug bites of some sort - you know....fleas, bedbugs? Once that was done I had the bright idea that it would be a good time to really finish the bedroom - so everything was moved out and I've been putting up trim boards, patching, sanding and will now get to painting.

One thing I'm not happy with is the single orange bead holding the right side of the upper walking stick emblem down. I want to remove it, but I also know it was the first bead I stitched down. If I clip it, how do I stabilize things so the rest of the beginning stitches also don't come undone? So, I vacillate and still don't know what I'll end up doing. Oh, yes... the twig will come back and be beaded somehow to the surface when I'm done.

BUGS - July Bead Journal page

I have thought out my July page.... what else but "bugs"! A tribute to all of summer's small flying, biting things and my own recent bug episode. I've always done more of a freeform type of bead embroidery and this time I want to try coloring within the lines. I'm not sure yet if I'll use the yellow or red bug. When I'm ready to start beading, I'll print the bug design on my backing and stabilize the ink with a spray fixative. I haven't decided yet what to do with the background.... just make it a solid printed color or applique a fabric back.

Meanwhile, the medical profession is still scratching their collective heads over what is causing my hives... now going on 3 weeks.

Bead Journal - June #2

Beads on Backing - finally

Note: edited to allow "click to view" larger beadwork images.

I just might make it with this piece by the end of June. It felt so good to finally be putting beads on the backing that I had to force myself to put it down at 1 am and go to bed. I flattened out two of the walking stick emblems that I collected on my travels earlier in the month. The enamel colors are striking and are icons of this month's "trip - journey" theme.

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This is what my ATC-sized back for June's piece looks like. I did the graphics first and am now beading that thought or theme for the front.

As I put the piece down last night I picked up a twig I had collected in New Mexico and had an "aha moment". I'm so used to making wearable art that until that moment I had not thought of incorporating fragile things. This piece will be displayed, not worn, so I can use things that would not survive the wear and tear of a jewelery piece. Now that opens new opportunities and makes room for more creative journal pages.

Bead Journal - June progress report

After driving 5,000 miles from my winter studio in Arizona to my summer studio in New Hampshire .... I've not had time to actually bead my June page. However, I did do my backing card, which talks about a Trip or Journey - the focus of this month's journal. The bead backing is cut and outlined and I collected all of these neat things on the trip to include. The problem is going to figure out how to fit them onto a small format with some being on a cord embellishment. I guess I'd better get the needle flying now.

New Journeys

....... or what have I gotten myself into?

At my advanced age, I should be kicking back, staying in one place, slowing down and enjoying my Grandkids. Instead, I've added several layers of new journeys to my life. The literal journey; fun & easy, is packing the beads into the orange Honda box and taking 3 weeks to visit and sightsee, on a 4,000 mile drive from Arizona to spend the summer in NH. The business journey is working on a third Bead Crochet Book; stressful, deadline prone, not easy, but fulfilling. The personal journey is finally deciding to let a casual, long distance relationship with a man slide into the realm of less casual and see where it goes; also fun, but not easy and a bit scary. Then there is a brand new creative journey ......

Bead Journal Project

Robin Adkins has started a year-long Bead Journal Project. Here and here is more information on the project. I signed up as I've been talking about wanting to do a major-type bead project for a couple of years now. This one captured my creative attention, is in a medium that was my first beading love, is in manageable chunks, and gives me some structure to carry it through to the end.

I can do bead embroidery. I like doing bead embroidery, seldom plan a piece, and always like what comes off of my needle. I haven't done much with this technique since bead crochet took over my beading life. It's time to rediscover it and expand my horizons with things I wanted to try out in this medium.



I can free think or free form in beads. For me it is an almost sensual pleasure and an antidote to the rigid planning & structure of bead crochet. I love playing with texture, color and the uninhibited growth of a freeform piece.




Bead crochet is the intellectual part and talks to my high need for planning, organization, and structure in my life. Through books, patterns and workshops, it has provided me with the wherewithal to not have a 9-5 job.


Now, can I translate all of this into a project that will carry through twelve months? This is from a person who has never kept a diary or a journal in her entire life.

OK, I need structure and organization..... I need to have a vision of how the pieces are going to fit together at the end. I have a need for the equivalent of physical blank journal pages. I have decided on an ATC size of 2.5" x 3.5" for the bead embroidery part. I cover my fabric entirely with beads, so I need to keep the work a lot smaller than a breadbox. Each of those base pieces will be that month's comment as well as be an explorations of old and new ways with fabric, needle, thread and beads. Then I need to give the freeform side even more room and further embellish each base piece with bits and pieces of each month's life experiences. I'm thinking of adding a laminated statement or comment to the back of each card - I'll have to see if that works or not over time.

So let's see where this series of journeys finishes or abruptly ends.